Sister Stephanie
by Almariado
Summary: As they investigate a case, Peter and Olivia reminisce on a similar situation of another case in the early days of Fringe Division. Takes place after season 4. P/O established. For the tenth anniversary of our beloved show.


**This has been on my hard drive for ages, I was suppose to use it as a scene on "The times that never were" story, but never managed to made into it.**  
 **Since I had nothing to post on our show's tenth anniversary, I decided to use it as a one shot.**  
 **The original version was revised and edited by Crystalline Green, but yesterday and today I rewrote it so it could stand on it's own.**  
 **It still has something of Crys editing in it, but for the major part it is all my fault.**  
 **So if you find any mistakes or misspellings, they are all on me. I will appreciate if you point them out to me.  
Anyhow, thanks to Crys for the invaluable help she gave me with the first version.  
**

 **Without further ado, here's my little gift to you all in the tenth anniversary of Fringe.**  
 **This could take place after season 4 or after the finale, whatever suits you best.**

* * *

The case they had been investigating had taken them to a bar on a side street not far from Fenway Park in Boston. The bartender that worked there had ties to one of the suspects.

"Just go with me on this one, okay?" Olivia said as she undid her ponytail, letting her hair fall on cascades over her shoulders. Then she reached for her shirt and popped an extra button, revealing a little of her cleavage.

"Sure" Peter said absent-mindedly as he watched his wife's actions. They started walking down the stairs that led to the entrance of the bar.

Until it hit him. A similar situation in another timeline and a different bar popped into his mind.

"Oh, come on, not the 'brother Rick' routine again?"

Olivia stopped before opening the door and looked at Peter with an amused and endearing smile on her face. "You remember that?"

Off course he remembered that day, it had been the first time he had seen Olivia genuinely happy and laughing, because of some silly card trick he had done. Back then, the elation he had felt for being the one causing her to relax and be happy for a few moments, had been something he had refused to put any meaning into it.

Now he knew he already had feelings for her back then. And how could he not, after witnessing all she had went through those first few months in Fringe Division and still managing to be the most passionate and caring person he had ever met. "Off course I remember" Peter finally admitted.

Olivia leaned closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck "Were you jealous of me flirting with the bartender back then?"

Maybe jealous wasn't the right word to describe what he felt seeing Olivia openly engaging with another man, even if it was a ruse to draw information from the guy, but it had definitely made him uncomfortable and that had been another sign of what she was starting to mean to him back then that he chose to ignore.

But that was something he was not willing to admit to her that easy. So he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him and gave her his trade mark loop-side grin "Honey, don't get me wrong but I can hardly call flirting to what you did with that bartender"

Olivia narrowed her eyes at Peter, then she grabbed his hands, making him release her waist "Then you wont have any problem with me 'failing' at flirting with the bartender of this bar too" then she popped an extra button of her shirt revealing even more of her cleavage, making Peter to swallow hard. Olivia turned toward the door of the bar and opened it, disappearing inside as the door slowly closed behind her.

Peter shook his head and sighed, he knew that that comment had made her even more driven. The prospect of his wife flirting with a stranger was already something that made him deeply uncomfortable, even if it was to help them dig a new lead for the case. But now Olivia had set her mind to it after what he had said, so she would probably even sweep the guy of his feet until she got what she wanted. But he had brought it upon himself after the smart ass comment he had made, so he had no other option but to watch his wife seducing a stranger.

Peter braced himself and opened the door of the bar. He almost bumped into Olivia as he stepped inside. She was standing motionless near the door, staring at the patrons in the bar, a mixed look of annoyance and disappointment on her face.

Peter followed her stare. The bar wasn't crowded, but almost all the tables were filled with people. It had an intimate atmosphere. Soft music was playing on the background, something by George Michael. The ideal bar to bring a date. The thing was, there were only men. Male couples, to be more precise.

Peter couldn't hide his amusement with the turn of events. His relief on the other hand, he kept it buried inside of him.

"Sweetheart, I think you could even go topless and no one would notice here," he said. Then he leaned into her ear "Especially not the bartender" and he snorted. Said bartender, the one she was supposed to flirt with, was talking on a cell phone and gesturing enthusiastically. The guy reminded Peter very much of Nathan Lane's character in the 'Birdcage' movie.

She shoot him a glare, but suddenly took Peter by the arm and dragged him out of the bar.

Once outside, she turned to him. She unfastened then straightened his jacket, next she passed her hands through his hair, giving it a more composed look. Finally she popped one more button on Peter's shirt.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked, watching surprised at what she was doing to him.

She gave him a lopsided smile and a half shake of her head, "This time it's your turn to flirt with the bartender," she said, her eyebrow arched skyward.

"What!?"

"Besides, since I suck at flirting it really is better you'd be the one to do it. You're the expert, I'm sure you can get the information we need."

"I never said you sucked at flirting and neither that I'm an expert at it. And even if I was, it would be with women" he said emphasizing the last word.

"I won't think any less of your masculinity you know..." she bit her lower lip "and I will make it worth your while later," she grabbed his jacket with both hands, bringing him in closer for a lustful kiss which left him flushed and breathless.

He looked at her in astonishment, still trying to gather his bearings. "I can't believe you're bribing me with sex to make me flirt with a guy."

"It won't be that bad," she smiled playfully at him.

"Yes it will. It makes me uncomfortable" He sighed "I consider myself an open-minded person and I'm not homophobic. But that doesn't mean that I will flirt with men. I'm straight, in case you haven't noticed. Would you have done it the last time if it had been a barmaid instead of a guy?"

"Off course" She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, "I would have done it all the same, because we needed the information. For what it's worth, I didn't like it having to flirt with that guy either,"

"Well from where I was standing you seemed to be enjoying yourself - all giggly and cheerful – and having him drool all over you."

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him "Drooling all over me? But I thought I wasn't that good at flirting..." then her expression changed, having obviously come to a realization "Oh my God, you _were_ jealous and you didn't want to admit it" She couldn't help the smile forming in her lips.

"What?" Peter gave her a forced smile, his jaw too tightly clenched, trying to hide his discomfort, cursing himself inwardly for giving away what he had been trying to hide just moments before.

She looked at him, a tender smile on her face, "Really Peter? You already had feelings for me back then?"

Peter stared at her, he felt like a kid caught with his hand on the cookie jar. "I... err..." the big lump in his throat wasn't helping with his speech capabilities, neither was his usually quick witted brain, which for the moment, refused to provide him with coherent thought.

Olivia smiled even more at his reaction, which gave him away and provided the answer to her question.

She tightened her grip on his jacket pulling him in once again for another kiss, this one far more tender and passionate. She broke the kiss without taking her eyes from Peter. He stared back at her, mesmerized by the intensity of her gaze.

"Okay, I'll do it," he said in a very soft tone, almost a whisper.

Before he had the chance to over think things, he opened the door and entered the bar once more, followed immediately by a grinning Olivia.

He put on his best charming smile and leaned on the counter, drawing the attention of the bartender "Hi there, I'm Rick and this his my sister Stephanie"

* * *

 **Long live Fringe and it's amazing characters. It will never be forgotten.**


End file.
